Wednesday, 5 April 2017

How Bad Does It Get?

Not going to go for a full match report; I’m rather
out of practise, rather late in any event, and I don’t want to deepen anyone’s
misery by raking over the coals. Suffice to say that if that were the standard
for a full season we would have already been relegated. As it is other results
sort of went our way (if you can view a Millwall win from that perspective) and
a four-point cushion, better goal difference and four teams between us and the
fourth relegation spot with only five games to go mean we are still likely to
avoid the drop; but the odds are obviously shortening given our current form
and Saturday’s round of matches will produce fresh shifts.

I was left asking fellow Addicks who have been
attending at least some games how our performance last night compared with what
else they had seen this season. The answer seemed to be perhaps not the worst
but if not very close to it. And as we head towards the lowest end-season
league position in my lifetime I was trying to remember if I’d seen a worst
performance at The Valley. Of course there have been heavier defeats. A 1-5
capitulation against Rotherham in the early 1980s comes to mind (it was also a
rather odd time for our club on the ownership front); but that was in a higher league and we scored. I
can remember three occasions from last night when it seemed we might score,
against a team that was hardly outstanding. MK Dons defended well, dominated
midfield, and with any sort of composure in the final third could have run up a
cricket score given the space they were afforded.

It’s been suggested that MK Dons were better than
us from start to finish. I don’t agree. We had by far the better of the first
minute. Watt flicked the ball past their defender and ran around the other
side, only to be cynically hauled back. A yellow card after 43 seconds, a free
kick in a promising position, an indication that we might have the weapons to
beat the opposition. That was as good as it got, for Charlton and Watt in
particular.

We went behind after seven minutes and I’m afraid
that for me Solly has to take most of the blame. A fairly routine cross from
their right was going to be contested by a forward and a central defender when
for some reason Solly left his man at the far post to challenge for the ball.
Nobody won it cleanly and it dropped to the guy Solly had left unmarked. He
took a shot which was deflected, Rudd twisted well to keep it out with an
outstretched palm but only for it to sit up for their guy to score from a
couple of yards out. It was a horrible goal and the collective effort which
followed was well short of what we would expect – and what any set of supporters
would expect from a team which should be fighting to avoid relegation.

Seemed to me that we had plenty of fluidity up
from, with Watt and Holmes moving around either side of Magennis. But also a
total lack of understanding as to where they might crop up and consequently,
with our midfield largely static, nothing productive resulted, especially with
any ball chipped forward to Magennis dealt capably by their centre-halves and
anything played up to Watt leading to either a failure to repeat his first minute
trick and lost possession or poor control and the ball bouncing into touch.

By contrast, what turned into a very narrow
formation from us enabled MK Dons to enjoy all the time and space that they could
want down the flanks. The quality of their balls into the box and
decision-making in the final third really let them down, otherwise the game
would have been over as a contest before the break. However, with no change to
the pattern in the second half it was only a matter of time before they got one
right. Watt gave the ball away once more and they sprang forward. A simple pass
and this time their guy advanced and really passed the ball into the side of
the net without a tackle made. I’m not sure if it was before or after that
decisive strike that we saw one of the worst examples of our collective
defending. On this occasion we had numbers behind the ball but when MK Dons
switched the ball from their left side to the right every Charlton player
followed suit, leaving utterly unattended their players on the left. Schoolboy
is an understatement.

Our three moments? A Holmes shot towards the end of
the first half which was always going wide but showed some attacking intent. A
defensive cock-up of MK Dons’ own saw two defenders and their keeper, plus
Holmes, go for a ball just inside their box. Their guys collided and Holmes
seemed ready to plant the ball into an empty net, but the linesman flagged,
presumably for some infringement by Holmes. I can’t say for sure, would have to
see it again, but at the time it just seemed that their guys had run into each
other. And then most lamentable of all a decent cross from the left and Watt
rose unchallenged, only to put in an utterly unconvincing sort of header well wide.
With around 10 minutes left I was thinking please let there be another goal: if
it’s for them there would be a mass exodus and we can get an earlier night, it
it’s for us it would at least mean an interesting finish, conceivably an
utterly undeserved point. But they hit the post with their final real chance
and there was never a realistic prospect of us mounting a comeback.

Did anyone emerge with credit? I thought that we
improved with the introduction of Byrne and Botaka, their threat helped free up
more space for Holmes and it looked as though the pair did at least know how to
control and pass the ball. Holmes himself would probably have been our man of
the match for me, without much competition. Niggles and lack of match fitness
may have affected others’ displays, but Watt was worse than inept. In his final
10 minutes or so on the pitch he was more intent on provoking their players
than playing football, being taken off before his yellow card was added to, and
his glaring miss summed up the night. I would shudder to think of the
percentage of his touches which resulted in immediate loss of possession.
Magennis was indeed a shadow of the player I saw earlier in the season bully
central defenders. Collectively our midfield was static, unimaginative and
easily bypassed by them.

If Robinson is right and the players are on trial
for next season, their level of determination and ability displayed last night
would suggest that they really don’t want to be here, at least not if he's still around. After the well-conducted
tributes to PC Keith Palmer the mood in the stadium turned increasingly toxic.
We are a club in steady decline and real crisis. I hope Duchatelet was watching
a live stream but don’t have confidence that if he was he could finally see the
wood for the trees.

Agree with your match analysis, BA. Like you an abstainer, but prompted to go for this one game in tribute to P C Palmer. Seated in an atmosphere-free West Stand where my son somewhat stood out by being the only person to give any encouragement or reprimand to the players. Seems like everybody connected with the club is already numb.

Having been one of the thousands of critics of RD and KM for their rapid turnover of Head Coaches, it is very apparent that Robinson has brought nothing advantageous to the club. His one significant act has been to help Swindon revive slightly via Nicky Ajose.

Thanks for the comments guys. 30-1 to go down? Has to be worth a tenner, just to cover for the possibility of needing the readies to drown our sorrows, might even extend to some new dancing shoes for Roland when he sells. As for the 'worse than this' scenarios, they don't bear thinking about. Could we really find ourselves three divisions below Palace and two below Millwall?

Love the scenario whereby Reading get promoted and they decide they don't need Kermorgant, Roland sells and new owners bring back Sir Chris, who gets Yann back for his final season before retiring.

Duchere? They are indeed having a good season but shot themselves in the foot a bit last time out, losing at home to lowly Sedan. They would have been second with a win!